The invention relates generally to a vacuum pump and more particularly to a compressed air driven vacuum pump assembly wherein a series of air nozzles are located essentially parallel to a series of vacuum passage structures to provide a vacuum pump assembly having an unusually efficient vacuum capability.
Vacuum pumps are used in a variety of applications. For example, vacuum pumps are used in manufacturing and material handling to hold an object in a particular position or to lift and transfer an object from one location to another. In the graphic art field, vacuum pumps are used to transfer paper or film from one location to another. Vacuum pumps are also used in connection with suction devices such as those utilized in medical or dental laboratories. However, many of these applications are not compatible with a conventional, electrical or combustible fuel driven vacuum pump because there is a risk of combustion or fuel leakage.
Numerous attempts have been made to use the energy contained in compressed air to create a vacuum and a secondary flow of air (vacuum flow). These prior art attempts have not been able to provide a simple, efficient, and economical vacuum pump. For example, a single venturi air nozzle has been utilized to allow compressed air to expand in one step to create a vacuum flow. However, in a single air nozzle vacuum pump, a large amount of energy is consumed without producing a correspondingly high vacuum flow. Other pumps have included a complicated arrangement of nozzles within a multi-chambered housing. In these attempts, the complexity of the air and vacuum flow paths within the vacuum pump housing severely reduces the efficiency of the pump.
The disadvantages of the prior art are overcome in accordance with the present invention by providing a simplified vacuum pump assembly that is economical to manufacture and that will efficiently extract over 90% of the energy available in the compressed air to produce a high vacuum flow. For example, the vacuum pump of the present invention will use less compressed air but deliver three or four times more vacuum flow than pumps having a single venturi air nozzle.